The Escape Club are an English pop rock band that was formed in London in 1983. They are best known for their 1988 No. 1 US hit "Wild, Wild West" and for their top-ten 1991 hit "I'll Be There".
History
The band formed in 1983, comprising Mad Shadows members lead singer/rhythm guitarist Trevor Steel and guitarist John Holliday, along with former Expressos members bassist Johnnie Christo (a.k.a. John Christoforou) and drummer Milan Zekavica. The seeds for the formation of The Escape Club were sown when Zekavica joined Steel and Holliday in Mad Shadows, who subsequently performed on an album by the obscure early 1980s Stephen Milford-fronted new wave outfit Planning by Numbers. Before long, Christo had also joined the lineup, and The Escape Club was born. The fledgling band quickly released the single "Breathing". One reviewer said of the ban and disembodied limbs, "British censors would’ve been acting in the public interest. [...] It’s [a] pretty easy psychedelic trick-shot, and it’s also pure nightmare fuel. I hate looking at it."
In 1989, they released two more singles from Wild Wild West: "Shake for the Sheik", which climbed to No. 28, and "Walking Through Walls", which peaked at No. 81. On 9 July 2024, bassist Johnnie Christo died after battling cancer for six years.
Discography
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Album details
! colspan="2"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Certifications<br><small>(sales threshold)</small>
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="35"| US<br>
! width="35"| AUS<br>
|-
| 1986
| align="left"| White Fields
- Released: 1986
- Label: EMI America
| —
| —
|
|-
| 1988
| align="left"| Wild Wild West
- Released: 1988
- Label: Atlantic Records
| 27
| 42
| align="left"|
- US: Gold
|-
| 1991
| align="left"| Dollars and Sex
- Released: 1991
- Label: Atlantic Records
| 145
| —
|
|-
| 2005
| align="left"| Cloud 10
- Released: 20 September 2005
- Label: self-released
| —
| —
|
|-
| 2012
| align="left"| Celebrity
- Released: 7 February 2012
- Label: self-released
| —
| —
|
|-
| colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|-
|}
Charting singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2"| Certifications<br><small>(sales threshold)</small>
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! width="30"| US<br>
! width="30"| US Mod<br>
! width="30"| US Dan<br>
! width="30"| AUS<br>
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1988
| align="left"| "Wild, Wild West"
| 1
| 3
| 36
| 6
| 12
| align="left"|
- US: Gold
| align="left" rowspan="3"| Wild Wild West
|-
| align="left"| "Shake for the Sheik"
| 28
| —
| —
| 114
| 46
|
|-
| 1989
| align="left"| "Walking Through Walls"
| 81
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1991
| align="left"| "Call It Poison"
| 44
| —
| —
| 82
| —
|
| align="left" rowspan="3"| Dollars & Sex
|-
| align="left"| "I'll Be There"
| 8
| —
| —
| 43
| 42
|
|-
| align="left"| "So Fashionable"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|
|-
| colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|-
|}
References
External links
- Cloud 10 at CDBaby.com
- Trevor Steel's Blog